SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council passed legislation Tuesday that aims to add at least 10 electric vehicle charging stations over the next two years.
Seattle has Level 2 and Fast Chargers within city limits, but expansion is necessary because state law will require two out of every three vehicles sold in Washington to be zero-emission. State data included in a City Council Blog post showed King County already has over 75,000 electric vehicles on its roads.
The ordinance authorized Seattle City Light to lease private property to install and operate public EV charging stations. In addition, private companies will be able to lease property owned by Seattle City Light to install and operate charging stations.
City Light said his authority would allow it to install between 10 and 20 EV charging stations in Seattle over the next two years, with more to follow.
In March, Seattle City Light launched its program to install curbside charging stations throughout the area, with the first one being installed in Portage Bay. At the time, the city said there were 30 other locations selected for additional curbside charging stations that would be installed this summer.
According to the Seattle City Light interactive map, Seattle has nine public EV charging stations in operation. The map shows 32 spots with proposed charging stations, including four fast chargers.
Washington's goal is to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars across the board by 2035.
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